Aug

What To Bring To Under1Roof (We Think)

In preparation for Under1Roof, which we are told is an NSOP event, we’ve prepared a list of must-haves, purely based on hearsay. Nobody within three degrees of the Bwog staff has ever actually attended, but some of us are still getting “stern e-mails” about scheduling a make-up session years later, and thought we might as well try to help a freshman out before it’s too late.

52 Comments

This is so offensive. Under1Roof has an actual, serious, purpose. It is about learning to coexist in a complex and diverse campus and world. It is not a joke, and the fact that BWOG treats it as such simply underscores why we need Under1Roof.

Please, incoming students please take go to Under1Roof and take it seriously. It can be really eyeopening and beneficial.

Coexistence is a dynamic and ongoing process, not a simple skill. It requires constant engagement and dedication. It must be actively developed. You need only look at the state of international affairs to see that coexistence in this complex world of ours is no simple thing--nevertheless it is of supreme importance.

Seriously? We aren't allowed to joke about something if it has an "actual, serious purpose" and has the potential to be "eyeopening and beneficial"? I guess we aren't allowed to tell jokes at the expense of the Core anymore.

I thought this list was funny because it played off the freshman mystery of what the hell Under1Roof was all about (I remember a lot of NSOP rumors about people just breaking down in tears at the sheer emotional power of the event), but even if you didn't think it was funny, calling it offensive is just overblown. Sure, Under1Roof has a nice goal, and it might have been offensive if this post attacked that goal, but in practice, Under1Roof has essentially zero impact on most Columbia students, and it is not offensive to say that.

I, myself, was personally offended. So I cannot agree with your assessment about it being overblown.

And, of course, we are allowed to joke about whatever we want. But in this case should we? And most specifically should we when the result of the joke is to undermine the effectiveness of the program itself? I would say no.

Actual, serious purpose? They sure didn't do a good job of taking it seriously themselves. When I was a freshman, Under1Roof accidentally scheduled me to attend at the same as some other (equally important) orientation event. At some point, they emailed me saying they'd schedule me for another session.

They never did. I still don't know what Under1Roof really is or why it's so important.

Under one roof was useless lets not kid ourselves. For the majority of us who are cool with diversity and stuff it is a waste of our time and for the few racist people 1 hour isn't going to change their views. Overall just punishing the majority of people for the misgivings of a select few

...might be slightly akin to being forced to sit through a two-hour math class on addition and subtraction when you're a physics PhD candidate. I am all for diversity and teaching people to coexist and accept differences, but if you've spent the first 18 years of your life dealing with it, the rudimentary stuff introduced in Under1Roof is repetitive and not helpful.

those who speak about privilege do not try to say that they don't have it. acknowledging one's privilege is an important step towards education. obviously as students at an ivy league school we are the privileged, but there are different types. you can be a part of the in-group and still feel isolated because you come from a poor family, or you're a minority, or you're trans, or you're a woman. this shit is like animal farm; we are all equal, but some are more equal than others.

(I don't mean that in any racial sense whatsoever. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Unless you think there is, in which case I respect your opinion and validate it by acknowledging it and celebrating it as uniquely yours or, alternately, as being an important part of your cultural contribution to our global community which I recognize as being made up of equals...not that anyone needs my validation or recognition as a Privileged White Male, who comes from a racial and cultural background based entirely on the subjugation, exploitation, and destruction of non-Western cultures and peoples and who, even now, enjoys the fruits of the institutionalized racism my ancestors carved into history.)

Seriously, though: lighten up. Some people don't feel like Under1Roof is worth a damn, other people think it's great. Columbia seems to think it's a good way to open dialogue about community and so it stands.

I don't think anyone--myself included--is making any kind of case for its abolition, so why so prickly? Your apparent hypersensitivity brings about as much to the dialogue than my apparent insensitivity.

You let every troll rain on your diversity parade or just the ones you think are melanin-deficient?

His disagreeing with you doesn't make him a racist. Really, this taunting and nastiness is uncalled for. Save it for actual racism. I can't stand you people, screeching about privilege every time you want to shut somebody and their ideas down because they make you uncomfortable.

The comments here are just inane. On a personal note, I really liked my Under1Roof. I was forced to do a bunch of diversity programs in high school, and they were an utter waste of time. The conversation here though was thoughtful and meaningful, and I remember feeling really good about choosing Columbia because of it.

If this Under1Roof thing is supposed to be a serious academic conversation about diversity and community, then where's the freaking syllabus? Why is it being led by undergraduates, and not professors? Get the entire Columbia history department to give some lectures on institutional racism, the role of religion, human tribalism, etc., then I'll take this seriously.

under1roof may be slightly tone deaf at times, but i think of all NSOP programs it is so mocked and undermined that to keep making jokes about it only contributes to the all-to-common misconception that as long as you don't want to burn crosses on someone's lawn, you don't have to confront and understand your own privilege.

the conversation about race is so much more nuanced and convoluted than simply appreciating the civil rights movement, lgbtq issues are more than a question of marriage, and understanding disabilities is more than helping to fund a wheelchair ramp. these issues don't just work themselves out in our politics, they live in our language, attitudes and assumptions.

Bwog, please recognize the importance of under1roof and acknowledge it. maybe in a few years, the program will have sunk in more deeply, the campus conversation may be fundamentally altered, and the situation will be ripe for a joke. as of now, however, many members of our community are not just simply offended but made to feel unsafe and undervalued as a consequence of seemingly "normal" behavior and values.

signed,a repentant senior, who 3 years ago during an under1roof conversation on abilities listed hers as "flight".

I thought Under1Roof was going to be a joke, and I went, and it turned out to be my favorite thing about NSOP. I ditched Consent is Sexy and now I regret it. Don't be an assface, just do it, you might get something out of it.